2018-2019 B1G Basketball Thread

[JerseyTerrapin]

Are Friday night games new or am I having a memory lapse?  I kind of like them, although they will drag down attendance in metropolitan areas...

[ELA]

Even though MSU won and PSU lost, if both teams play like they did their last game, PSU wins

[ELA]

Are Friday night games new or am I having a memory lapse?  I kind of like them, although they will drag down attendance in metropolitan areas...

They definitely had them last year, can't remember if last year was first or second year of them though

[medinabuckeye1]

My plan for each team's tier on Monday's update:

• Michigan is tier-1 EVEN and playing a game they are projected to win (vNU) so they will be either Even or -1.  They will stay in tier-1.  
• Michigan State is tier-1 +1 and playing a game they are projected to win (@PSU) so they will be either Even or +1.  They will stay in tier-1.  
• Indiana is tier-2 EVEN and playing a game they are projected to lose (@UMD) so they will be either Even or +1.  They will stay in tier-2.  
• Wisconsin is tier-2 EVEN and playing a game they are projected to win (vPU) so they will be either Even or -1.  They will stay in tier-2.  
• Nebraska is tier-2 -1 and not playing this weekend.  They will stay in tier-2.  
• Purdue is tier-2 EVEN and playing a game they are projected to lose (@UW) so they will be either Even or +1.  They will stay in tier-2.  
• Ohio State is tier-2 -2 and playing a game they are projected to lose (@IA) so they will be either -1 or -2.  If they are -2 they will move down to tier-3.  
• Maryland is tier-3 +1 and playing a game they are projected to win (vIU) so they will be either Even or +1.  They will stay in tier-3.  
• Iowa is tier-3 EVEN and playing a game they are projected to win (vtOSU) so they will be either Even or -1.  They will stay in tier-3.  
• Minnesota is tier-4 +1 and playing a game they are projected to win (vRU) so they will be either Even or +1.  They will stay in tier-4.  
• Northwestern is tier-4 -1 and playing a game they are projected to lose (@M) so they will be either Even or -1.  They will stay in tier-4.  
• Penn State is tier-4 EVEN and playing a game they are projected to lose (vMSU) so they will be either Even or +1.  They will stay in tier-4.  
• Illinois is tier-5 EVEN and not playing this weekend.  They will stay in tier-5.  
• Rutgers is tier-5 +1 and playing a game they are projected to lose (@MN) so they will be either +1 or +2.  If they are +2 we'll have to consider elevating them.  

[betarhoalphadelta]

Maryland played Purdue VERY tight at Purdue. I think we'll need to see how they play at Indiana. 

If Maryland wins, I think there might be a case for moving Maryland up AND moving Indiana down. I don't think Indiana has quite impressed yet. Indiana barely beat NW at home, didn't really trounce Illinois at home, barely edged PSU on the road, and had a sizable loss to Michigan @ Michigan [to be expected].

[ELA]

They look like an AAU team, clear talent but no basketball smarts.  Weird, because I think Miller is a good coach, but they don't look like it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I think there's a fair chance that MSU is better than Michigan. Too early to tell, so I guess it's fair to give the benefit to the undefeated group. Still, though they seem to be bouncing back now that it's Big Tem time, that stretch versus the dregs (SCar, Air Force, and someone else I'm forgetting) was uninspiring and had me decelerating my optimism.

[Anonymous Coward]

The only top half team I've never seen is Wisconsin. I kind of have them positioned #3 in my mind by default. Happ is scarier than anyone IU brings.

[ELA]

Former MSU coach Gus Ganakas, who coached prior to Jud, died at 92.  Lived a good life, loved MSU, and retired young, before becoming an MSU broadcaster.

Oddly also means Izzo is the only living person to coach MSU basketball

[bayareabadger]

Purdue pulled out an OT win in Madison. It was a game that was weird from the UW side. 

The Boilers went up early, stormed back, couldn’t take control, fell behind again, staged a crazy rally to force OT. Badgers had a late lead and it was tied until 38 seconds left, so Purdue kinda just made more plays at the end. 

Some UW fans are apoplectic. I’m kinda just seeing it as a sign the conference is gonna be a bitch this year. Also, UW had turnover and defensive rebounding issues that seem fixable, but I also might be under crediting UW’s FT luck from Purdue (UW also had a not great night, even by its standards). Also caught the bounce back from a 7-31 night. Don’t like losing at home, but the team did some stuff I don’t expect from it well. On to the next. 

(Also, that Purdue offense is a nightmare to hold back. It’s edwards, a hammer Big and three 6-6 guys who can shoot. Everything is guys popping out around screens, the big overwhelming and Edwards hitting crazy stuff. Did not enjoy facing it)

[ELA]

So is Wisconsin in a little trouble?  In a year where the conference is so deep you can't afford home losses, Badgers already have two.  Have to admit, I thought they'd be a tourney team, but the level of bounce back that the preseason predictions were mostly seeing, I just didn't see it.

[betarhoalphadelta]

Some UW fans are apoplectic. I’m kinda just seeing it as a sign the conference is gonna be a bitch this year. Also, UW had turnover and defensive rebounding issues that seem fixable, but I also might be under crediting UW’s FT luck from Purdue (UW also had a not great night, even by its standards). Also caught the bounce back from a 7-31 night. Don’t like losing at home, but the team did some stuff I don’t expect from it well. On to the next.

(Also, that Purdue offense is a nightmare to hold back. It’s edwards, a hammer Big and three 6-6 guys who can shoot. Everything is guys popping out around screens, the big overwhelming and Edwards hitting crazy stuff. Did not enjoy facing it)

Not sure why UW fans are apoplectic over this one... Yeah, it sucks to lose a home game, especially since Purdue's record doesn't *look* impressive to people who don't see how strong their SoS is... Currently #1 SoS in the nation according to KenPom. And while the final score @MSU was pretty terrible, the Purdue-MSU game was actually a lot closer than the score indicates. Purdue was in it for about 32 minutes, but MSU pulled away strong in the end. 
Really impressed with Tre Williams this week. He took on two very talented centers in Nick Ward and Ethan Happ, and at least held his own. Yes, Happ got a lot of points, but Tre got two blocks on him, generally hassled him quite a bit, and was able to score well himself. And Tre got a double-double against MSU, and was one point shy of it against UW. That kid is going to be GOOD. His athleticism for 280 lbs is impressive, and his court vision and passing instincts are astounding for a true frosh. When he gets his conditioning in order and loses a few more pounds, he'll be a terror.
Was really glad to see Purdue escape this one with a W. After losing a number of close neutral/road games early in the year, seeing this one fall away on the road might have hurt the team's confidence. Instead, they were tested repeatedly and managed to secure the W. 

[MaximumSam]

Some ugly basketball in Iowa

[bayareabadger]

So is Wisconsin in a little trouble?  In a year where the conference is so deep you can't afford home losses, Badgers already have two.  Have to admit, I thought they'd be a tourney team, but the level of bounce back that the preseason predictions were mostly seeing, I just didn't see it.

At the moment, I don't think they're in trouble to not make the tournament. They're not making it easy though.
Right now they have some good wins, bad losses are at WKU and Minny at home. The conference schedule is a bad thing because it's hard, but good because it has a minimum of pitfalls. Kenpom has them only worse than a 3-point dog once. If they take a real bad run in games vs. comparable teams, could be dicy, but I'm gonna wait and see on that.
In each conference loss, they did something that's probably not going to happen often (stupid cold shooting vs Gophers, ridiculous turnovers vs. Purdue). I think they get things together enough to make it without much worry. 

Now, they could always suddenly slip, but I need to see some actual bad losses. I think they could lose the next two, and I won't be too worried. That's weird to write, but the league is good enough, there could be a lot of leeway unless something catastrophic happens.